Madonna's one-off BBC special with Graham Norton has provided fans with a fun and insightful look at how the Queen of Pop is preparing for the release of her new album, Confessions II. It's been seven years since she dropped her last studio record, and tonight's show - which arrived complete with a Kylie Minogue cameo - arrives with just one week to go until the new one lands.
The 67-year-old was on fine form as she chatted to Norton, 63, at Koko in Camden, which is where she had her first ever UK performance back in 1983. She also launched the original Confessions on a Dancefloor album there in 2005.
So for anyone who didn't catch tonight's broadcast, here are just nine of the many little gems that prove it's well worth catching-up on.
Related: Best streaming services
1. She wrote a song about her late brother
Back in October 2024, when the new album was being made, Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone passed away at the age of 63.
Graham referenced a "gorgeous" track on Confessions II that pays tribute to him, with Madonna reflecting: "A lot was happening in my life at the time that I was writing with Stewart [Price, collaborator]... I was affected deeply by the death of my brother, Christopher.
What to Read Next
"I actually came to the studio and I spoke to my brother, who was in a lot of pain, on the phone. And he was not in a good place and I knew that it was close to the end. And then I went upstairs and wrote a song. So it was all connected to what was happening in my life."
When Graham asked if it's challenging to be emotionally vulnerable in her music, she responded: "It's cathartic. It's like a kind of therapy, to let go of someone you love. The best way is to write about it, it's like an exorcism."
Related: Kylie Minogue makes RETURN to acting: First look at singer and Quentin Tarantino filming in Wales
2. She was "jealous" of Kylie Minogue
Madonna's sense of humour was on full display as she joked with Kylie Minogue, who made a guest appearance as a bartender, about previously being jealous of her.
Back in 2000, Madonna famously wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the 'Padam Padam' icon's name, and quipped: "I was actually a little bit jealous of you... Because she was so cute.
"I think my ex-husband, at the time, had a crush on her. I was like, 'I'll never be as beautiful as Kylie!'"
Madonna, for what it's worth, was married to Sean Penn from 1985 to 1989, and - more around the time of the T-shirt - to Guy Ritchie from 2000 to 2008.
3. She finds dancefloor "anonymity" in a surprising place
Graham mentioned that in her new music, the star talks about "hitting the dancefloor and being free and finding a new persona and anonymity", and asked how Madonna herself manages to do that whilst also being one of the most famous people in the world. Surely she can't just blend-in in a nightclub anymore?
She answered: "You know where I can have it? It sounds like a total contradiction. It's on-stage. There's so many people that I just tune everybody out and then something takes over."
4. She connected with Sabrina Carpenter via Instagram
Confessions II features the hit single 'Bring Your Love', which features Sabrina Carpenter. Madonna said that she persuaded the 'Espresso' hitmaker to appear by simply sending her a message on social media.
"I DM'd her," she recalled. "Sometimes you DM people and you're just like, 'they're never gonna believe that it's me, I'm never gonna hear from them.'
"I said, 'I'm making a new record and I'd love to collaborate with you on something'. It ended up being 'Bring Your Love' and it worked perfectly."
The track became Madonna's 73rd hit on the official UK Top 40, and her 59th on the US Billboard Hot 100.
5. She found the Coachella theft "disturbing"
After appearing alongside Sabrina at Coachella, Madonna posted that her costume was stolen. Asked here if it has yet been found, she said: "Nope. It's very naughty."
She continued: "Coachella is a very distracting environment, there's a lot going on. Somebody found them and helped themselves."
When Graham expressed his belief that it will find its way back to her, she admitted: "I was very disturbed by it for a couple of days. They're [the outfits] historical."
6. One major moment in her career left her "surprised"
Confessions II is the spiritual successor to 2005's Confessions on a Dancefloor, and - more than twenty years into her career at the time - it seems like Madonna did not expect that era to be as huge as it was.
But its lead single, 'Hung Up', topped the charts in 41 countries, and became the most successful dance song of the decade in the US.
"We didn't have any idea... how brilliant it was," she joked, to laughter from Graham.
"No, well, I don't have any expectations. I've been doing this a long time," she added. "So, you know, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. But it was a huge success. It took me by surprise, that's for sure."
7. She wanted the World Cup Halftime Show gig for "over a year"
Madonna will join BTS and Shakira for the first ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show next month, live from New Jersey. The event - slated for 19 July - was on Madonna's wishlist for a while, it seems.
"I'm just a really big football fan," she said. "It's always been my dream. They never had a halftime [show]. I've been bugging and harassing my manager for over a year about it."
Asked by Graham if she'll perform new or old material, she insisted: "I'm not gonna tell you. You just wanna know everything! Spoiler alert! You'll find out when you get there."
8. There might be more songs to come from Confessions II
The upcoming album contains a bumper 16 songs, but it seems there are even more that didn't make the final tracklisting that Madonna would love to release.
"I think they're gonna find their way out into the world," she hinted. "We have eight songs that we really love that didn't make it onto the record. You can only put so many songs on the record."
9. Was that a big Glastonbury Festival hint?
Towards the end of the interview, Graham asked if she plans to tour, to which she said: "I think I'll do promo tours for a while, and then in the summertime, something bigger."
When she and Graham then traded a very long, loaded look, Graham said: "Oh... OK. That sounds really exciting. I think I know what you're talking about. Is it in this country?"
Madonna left another pause before saying: "It could be."
Is she dropping a big hint that she might play Glastonbury for the first time? Or is she alluding to something else altogether? We'll have to wait and see.
Madonna and Graham is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.
